No Light
by Nyx Grayson
Summary: One year ago, Nightwing was killed on a mission, he came back to a dystopian world. Barbara keeps on seeing the dead vigilante and the rest of the Team thinks that she's finally lost it. A young girl with the ability of astral projection wants to set things right. OC, Ghost!Nightwing.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I Own Only Soule, anything that you recognize from DC is not mine.**

This is bad, this is very very very very very very very very very very very BAD.

Dick stood in front of his grave, his name and date of death carved there, in between his parent's headstones, the rest of his family's headstones were lined up on all sides, he glanced around and his eyes settled on his clothing, a white suit, his touched his face, his mask was there, but there weren't any lenses, leaving his once-bright blue eyes bare.

"So, Dickkie-bird, you figured it out yet?"

He turned and saw a girl, around fourteen years old, ash blonde hair falling mid-back, blood red irises stared calmly at him.

"Who are you?"

"You don't know me yet, you died before you could, in another universe, where you didn't die, you met me the next day."

"What happened?"

"Well, first of all, you're dead, this is about a year or two after you got incinerated."

"Are you dead?"

"No, I'm still alive, I'm able to separate my soul from my body and let it wander around a little"

"So I'm looking at your bare spirit, separate from your body?"

"Yes, this is actually what I look like, you can call me Soule."

"How do you know that the day after I died I was supposed to meet you if I didn't die because I died and that universe is out?"

"Umm, I just do. Okay, I know how to reset time too, I just need your help, you weren't supposed to die back there, you were supposed to live, the Team was supposed to live."

"So, they're all okay?"

"Watch, see how they are"

Nightwing looked up and saw Wally walking towards Dick's grave.

"Wally? Dude, can you hear me?"

"Well, um, sorry for not being able to come by sooner bud, the plan worked out, Lights down, it would've been easier with you there, but…"

The ginger took a shaky breath and placed a small bouquet of lilies on his best friend's grave

"I- We. Miss you. No-one's forgiven us yet for the little death stunt, Babs almost killed me asking if you were alive. Well, it ended up pretty bad, no-one's talking to us anymore, Kal lives on land now, so… yeah. Tha- that's all I was going to say, pr-pretty much"

His voice broke at the end, he fell to his knees.

"God man, I really really want you here right now, you have no idea how this year's been, I-I mean, chaos, everywhere, th-the League's broken, half dropped out, independent heroes are just going around. W-we need you."

Dick reached out to touch Wally's shoulder, just to comfort his sobbing friend a little, his pale and glowing hand passed right through KF's body.

Soule put her hand on Dick's shoulder, Wally stayed for a while but left a while after.

* * *

Soule explained

"Oh, it's the anniversary of your death, looks like there'll be one more before the end."

Tim sat cross-legged in front of his brother's grave.

"Hey, I see Walls already came, umm, I still think you're a bastard for lying to us, but since you're you know, d-dead, I-I can forgive-"

He stopped there, already crying

"Oh, geez, since when did I become such a crybaby? Dickkie, well, thanks to your plan the Light went down, b-but, I quit the hero business, not Robin anymore. I went back to what I did before, organize the bookshelves in the library, that- it's good, you know, enough. I miss the thrill though."

* * *

Barbara was last, she sobbed almost instantly, dropping the single rose she had brought and falling to her hands and knees

"I-I miss you, D-Dick, wh-why can't you be here? Why cou-couldn't you fake your d-death like Artemis? Huh? TELL ME!"

She screamed at his grave, her forehead touched the ground as it started raining, she cried and rocked herself back and forth

"I hate yo-you, i-if you ju-just l-let me die, th-then, yo-you WOULD BE ALIVE!"

Nightwing wrapped his arms around her, sending warmth through her body, she stopped crying and looked around, her eyes sliding over Dick and Soul, she sniffled and stood up, walking away miserably in the rain, her black dress completely messed up.

He barely heard her whisper

"I love you Richard"

Dick wondered briefly if he was hallucinating, or heard someone else. Soule said

"You have advanced senses now, that's why you could hear her."

"Why did I die?"

"Because you failed to notice one of the guards hit a button on his belt to start the countdown, if you manage to get back it'll be highlighted to your eyes."

"How do I get back?"

"That is the million dollar question isn't it?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Yes, I know, I put in an OC, but still, Soule is gonna be reused in other fics.**

**Review? PLEASE? It's a really big button.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do Not Own Anything.**

* * *

_One Year Ago…_

_Nightwing was running through the metal halls with Barbara, Garfield, Tim and Jaime. They had just escaped the guards and were running from a torrent of flames and lava. Dick was taking up the rear, Robin had the front. _

_Dick picked up Beast Boy when the child's martian-like body started to fail with the heat, everyone was pouring in sweat._

_"Over there!"_

_Tim saw the lockdown doors, open barely large enough to accommodate a teen, the raven haired boy slipped inside, followed by Blue Beetle, Nightwing helped Batgirl put Gar through the opening._

_Barbara looked at the leader and yelped as he tossed her through._

_ "No!"_

_The hole closed as Barbara's hands slammed into it._

_Barbara pounded on the door, shortly followed by Jaime and Tim._

_"Nightwing!"_

_He heard them, just didn't want to answer, instead he watched the quickly approaching wave of fire, he smiled._

_"Sorry."_

Jaime woke up with a gasp, he stared at everyone around him, they were all cramped in a small bedroom, all the team members, sleeping on ratty blankets.

He rolled over and walked through the sleeping bodies, pulling the covers higher on Cassie.

The vigilante crawled through a narrow tunnel and poked his head out, looking out of the cement tube and into the remains of Happy Harbor, they still lived in Mount Justice but it was partially blown up, nothing but a crater, they all slept in one room and did everything else in that room.

The most painful thing? It was Nightwing's room.

* * *

Soule walked with Dick through the ruined streets of Gotham, pale moonlight giving both eartheal figures a silver gleam and slight depth.

"Are you a vigilante?"

Nightwing broke the silence, noting her black skintight shirt with a white stripe down the sleeve and her black kevlar vest with a white symbol on the chest (1).

She smiled

"If you had lived, then yes, I would be a superhero."

He looked around, the streets were empty, homes were boarded up and no lights shone from the windows, no noise, it was eerie quiet.

"Why aren't there any people? No criminals, civilains, cars."

"You've finally caught on, without you to lead, the teams of supers separated, most died. So there was no-one to protect the earth."

"Where are they?"

"Most? Dead. Some? Metropolis. All the remaining Leaguers converged there. So did the people."

Nightwing looked around.

"Batman?"

"Umm, don't know, he went underground, if he's dead, no-one knows, if he's alive, he's brooding."

Dick sighed, Soule placed her hand on his shoulder but he was numb, a part of it came from knowing what would happen to Gotham if he died, another from wondering about the rest of his teammates.

"In case you think everyone's dead, you're wrong, they're all alive, all together, except for Tim, who, you must have heard, is organizing bookshelves in Metropolis."

He glanced at her and she continued

"The world is chaotic, barely anymore people left to populate it, Metropolis is the size of a state and everyone else is cramped into America. This is a dead zone, same as Star and New York."

Nightwing wondered how many people there were, some might be underground in other countries, but not many.

Soule smiled at him, not a mega-watt smile that he was sure she could channel, but just a little sad smile that spread warmth all over him.

Dick couldn't help but smile back, she held out her hand.

"Let's go, it's faster this way."

He hesitated a second before taking her gloved hand.

* * *

**(1) Think Renegade's symbol, but in white.**

**Author's Note: There's chapter two, sorry it took so long, I'm not in a writing mood and haven't been for a while.**

**Review!**


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